gave the U.S. President a "one" [the highest grade], about 13 percent gave him a "six" [the lowest].
Cute. They're using the grading system from German schools. Spiegel's not a bad magazine actually -- they don't pull many punches for their own politicians.
The term was "Amis," which is really the equivalent of calling Germans, Krauts.
"Amis" is not always a derogatory term. It totally depends on the context and attitude of the person saying it.
Agreed. It can be the equivalent of Yanks. In this case, I think it was intended in a derogatory fashion, but I could be wrong.